Comb-cylinder clearing arrangement in combing machines



Jan. 22, 1952 K. s'rRAssLER 2,583,281 COMB-CYLINDER CLEARING ARRANGEMENTIN COMBING MACHINES Filed Feb. 10', 1947 lllllll 17. E 2 J I l PatentedJan. 22, 1Q52 MEN'I IN, COMBING M C I ES Karl' s triissljer,'Winterthur, Switierland, assignmto Actiengesgllschaft Joh. Jacob;Rieter-,& 1Cie-;;:-:.:;

Winterthur,-='Switzerland Application February 10, 1947;;Serial-No:727,626 1 """In Switzerland Octoher 19;-"1946u "-1 a that. 101.19 1164)Duringthe operation of aj'textile fiber comber,

wastexor noil is deposited inthacombs or needles mounted on the combcylinders,'- forming at times a felted fleece therein or in portionsthereof, which cannot be removed by the circular brush in the course ofcombing. Such waste materially impairs the operation of the combs,"resulting in faulty tops. For this reason, the needle segments of thecomb cylinders have to be thoroughly cleaned after a certain period ofoperation. For the sake of distinguishing between primary comb cleaning,obtained in regular operation, and secondary cleaning applied from timeto time as required, such secondary cleaning hereinafter shall bereferred to as clearing.

To such end, the comb cylinders of prior combers are made to co-operatewith the rotary brushes, while running idle for a certain length oftime. During such clearing operations, the

feed of comber lap of necessity has to be stopped, and, for the purposeof resuming the combing operation, all the laps advanced first have tobe redrawn into the feed rollers, and the tops into the draw-frame andinto the sliver delivery mechanism. Such resetting causes reduced outputand requires additional work on the part of the attendants, for whichreason the clearing of the needle segments on the comb cylinders oftenwill be neglected. The intensity of clearing atments, the clearingarrangement according to my present invention comprises a change-speedgear for varying the ratio of the rotary speeds between, comb shaft andbrush shaft during the clearing of the combs, relative to the conditionsprevailing during operation. The speed of rotation of the cylinders ispreferably reduced during such clearing action.

The accompanying drawing shows one embodiment of the invention by way ofexample. A plurality of cylindersonly one being shown in the drawing,denoted by numeral l-are fixedly mounted on a comb shaft 2. A rotarybrush 4, co-operating with cylinder I and fixedly mounted on shaft 3, isoperatively connected with a spur gear I by means of spur gears 5 and 6.Gear 1 is keyed to shaft 8 of the comber which here is not furtherillustrated. Two further spur gears 9 and it are mounted loosely orrotatably on shaft 8 and mesh with spur gears H and I2, respectively,which latter are 2 keyed-etc com-brshartez iGcaNyit and I2 a sesubstantiallysmallend ameten than ge rs .15 an H.:.-Abelt-:drivespul-leyr r3 is. k yed to main shaft 8. .QA; clutchmember71351. 5 mounted axiallydisplaceably; along:keywayz.l;4,ion shaftBbetween; 1 gears 9 andz;l;fl.1.r;: Thezhub 1:5 anddliof sears .8. andI6 form the counter-parts to the clutch member I5. A lever l8 in theform of a fork engages the latter and is keyed to a rock-axle 18 whichis operated by a hand lever 20 mounted outside the machine case, thelatter not being shown. -By swinging hand lever 26 into one or the otherterminal position I or II, clutch l5 alternatively may be brought tomesh with hub It or II of gear 9 or I!) respectively, for the purpose oftransmitting the rotary motion of main shaft 8 onto gear 9 or IDrespectively.

Brush t has a uniform rotary speed, since it is driven through ear train1, Band 5 by the main shaft 8. When, during operation of the comber,clutch l5 engages hub [1 of gear II], the comb cylinder 1 is driven bygears II] and I2, and cylinder I, which is provided with the combs 2|,rotates faster than brush 4. For cleaning needles 2|, lever 20 is swungfrom position I into position II. Wheels 9 and H, now, rotate cylinder lat a considerably reduced speed. The difference between the rotaryspeeds of brush 2 and cylinder I thus is substantially increasedrelative to that attained during the combing operation proper. Brush 4thus clears cylinder I thoroughly.

Since the improved cleaning and clearing operation depends only onchanging the peripheral speed between the needle segment 2| and the combbrush 1 and since the entire feeding, combing and delivery mechanismcontinues operating, the production of the combing machine and hence theflow of fibrous material in the machine is not interrupted during thestripping of the needle segments 2|. Consequently the tediousreinsertion of the batting and strips usually required after cleaningthe comb teeth is eliminated.

Since, further, the comber operates at very low speed, on account of thegear ratios provided for, all the operations on the comber may besurveyed at ease. This greatly facilitates the adjustment of the latter,which is ofparticular importance in case of variations in the quality ofthe lap to be combed.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: g

1. In a textile combing and comb-cleaning and clearing mechanism, adrive shaft, a comb-cylim moved in normal speed operation, said variableE:

speed drive means including a shifting mechanism and means for operatingsaid shifting mechanism.

2. In a mechanism according to claim 1, said variable speed drive meanscomprising two pairs 1 of speed-changing gears of different gear ratios,one gear of each pair being rotatably and axially unmovably mounted onsaid drive shaft, the other gears of said pairs being fixedly mounted onthe comb-cylinder shaft, the gears mounted on the drive shaft havingclutch faces axially facing each other, and said shifting mechanismcomprising a two-faced clutch member nonrotatably and axially movablymounted on said drive shaft between the gears mounted thereon forengagement with either of said gear clutch faces.

3. In a mechanism according to claim 2, said shifting mechanismcomprising a lever in the shape of a fork and movable in a planecontaining the rotation axis of said drive shaft and movably engagingsaid clutch member, and a handle connected with said lever for movingsaid clutch member to engage either one or the other of said gear clutchfaces.

KARL STRASSLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,407,170 Ross Feb. 21, 19221,488,495 Helmbold Apr. 1, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date1,847 Great Britain of 1854 10,524 Great Britain of 1906

